What Just Happened?
by WizardWay
Summary: The Next Generation kids are flung backward in time, to when their one and only father, Harry Potter, is competing in The Triwizard Tournement...
1. Chapter 1

**This is my attempt at a Next Generation Time Travel fic. I hope you like it!**

"Dad's gonna kill you when he finds out, James." Albus Potter shook his head at his brother. James grinned indecisively.

"C'mon, Al," he scoffed. "Just because McGonagall said she was going to owl Mum and Dad, doesn't mean she'll actually _do_ it."

"Yeah, it does," Albus sighed. His brother was so clueless sometimes. He and his younger cousin, Hugo, had just created a minor explosion near the lake, which caused the Giant Squid to come flipping out of the water. And Hugo was only a first year! James was corrupting him.

"Yeah," their younger sister, Lily, added in. "Remember when we got that letter at home when James was in first year, Al?" she grinned. "I've never seen Mum so mad."

Just then, their cousin Rose barged into Gryffindor Tower, dragging her brother Hugo behind her.

"You idiot!" she screeched when she reached James. "You and Hugo could have seriously been hurt!"

"But we weren't!" James grinned as he and Hugo high-fived each other.

Rose silenced them with a glare. She was quite scary when she was angry. That was one thing that the five could agree upon.

"Sorry, Rose," James mumbled, staring at his toes.

"Yeah, sorry," Hugo muttered, copying his older cousin.

"But it was only a Halloween prank," James said so no one could here him. And it was true. That day was Halloween, James's favorite day of the year.

"You two have absolutely no common sense," Rose frowned.

"We knew that already," Lily muttered, exchanging a grin with Albus.

"Yea-Hey!" James said, crossing his arms and pouting like a little baby.

"What's going on, Rose?" Albus asked to change the subject. Rose was his best friend, they were both third year Gryffindors together.

"Nothing," Rose said dismissively. "I just came up here to chew James out." She glared at her said cousin.

"Oh!" Lily yelled.

"What is it, Lil?" Hugo asked his fellow first year.

"I need to show you guys something," she grinned mischievously.

"What is it?" James asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Well," Lily began. "I was in the library,"

James silently groaned.

"And I came across a book."

James groaned again.

"But it was hallowed."

"Really?" Rose asked interestedly.

"Yeah," Lily said, and she continued with her story. "And there was something inside."

This perked everyone up. They listened with rapt attention.

"It was this." Lily slipped a small silver ball out of her pocket and displayed it to her family.

"Cool, let me see." James grabbed the little ball out of Lily's hands.

"Hey, give it back!" Lily yelled, but James was already messing with it.

"Hey, look," he said suddenly. "There's a little button here. I wonder what would happen if I pressed it…"

"James, no!" Albus and Rose cried at the same time, but it was too late. James (the foolish) had pressed the button. And they were sent spinning….and spinning….and spinning….

**Sorry it was short, but remember, it's just the Prologue! I swear, the next chapter will be longer! Please Review!**


	2. Introductions

**Hey guys! So, the next chapter is up a bit quicker than expected, but I didn't want to keep you waiting in suspense! Thanks to all you reviewers!**

"Levitating Sugar Balls," Albus Dumbledore said cheerfully as he approached the gargoyle leading up to his office. The gargoyle shifted to the side, letting the headmaster past. As Dumbledore approached the main door to the office, he heard voices.

"Ouch, Hugo, you're on top of me," moaned a girl, one that Dumbledore didn't recognize.

"What did you do James?" he heard a boy ask. _James? That was interesting._

"Yes, James, you landed us in McGonagall's office!" he heard another, more hysterical girl. _McGonagall's office? Even more interesting._

"Relax, Lily," said another boy, the James, Dumbledore guessed. "We won't get in any trouble." _Lily? James and Lily?_

"Oh, yeah, of course not," drawled the voice of a different boy, one that had spoke earlier. "With you there's always trouble."

"Not always," piped up another boy, a new one. "Sometimes he gets away with it. Can you get off of me, Al?" _Al. Hmm._

"I can't," the boy, Al, said. "Rose is on top of me."

"Well, why can't Rose get up?" moaned the boy. You're hurting me."

"Ok, I'm out."

And Dumbledore opened the door. There were five kids standing there. There was a boy that looked around fourteen, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. There was a girl of around thirteen, with light red hair and clear blue eyes, with a smattering of freckles across her nose. There was a boy of thirteen as well, and he looked exactly like one of his students, Harry Potter. But he was quite certain that this wasn't Harry. There was a tall boy that looked maybe eleven or twelve, with light brown hair that fell longer than most boys' hair, and chocolate brown eyes. And then there was the last girl, who looked to be about eleven, with dark auburn hair and sparkling brown eyes. The kids all gaped at him.

"Hello," Dumbledore told the children. "Who are you?"

"You….you…." gaped the oldest boy. "You're Dumbledore."

"You are correct," the old man said with a smile. "Is it such a shock to see me?"

"You…you're dead," said the boy who looked like Harry.

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore frowned at the kids.

"You died before we were even born," said the youngest.

"And when might that be?"

"1997, of course!" said the red-headed girl.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said, his frown becoming more pronounced. "But it is only 1994 at the moment."

"What are you talking about?" said the Harry look-alike. "It's 2019! We were just in the common room, and this idiot," he jabbed his finger at the oldest. "Stole this one thing from her," he pointed at the younger girl. "And pressed a BLOODY BUTTON and we ended up here!"

"Well, I think that I am correct in the fact that you have traveled to the past," Dumbledore told them heavily.

"What? That's impossible!" The red-headed girl spoke up. "No one's found out how to travel back more than 24 hours!"

"Well, it seems that you five have proved experts wrong," Dumbledore smiled. "Now, until I find a way to resolve this problem, I'm afraid you must pretend to be exchange students for now. The Triwizard Tournament is taking place for the first time in centuries this year, and we can make it seem that you are all American exchange students observing it.

"Now, on to another matter of business," he smiled at them. "Full names, age, and parentage, please."

The kids looked uneasily at one another. Then the oldest stepped forth. "James Sirius Potter, at your service," he said with flourish.

"I am correct in assuming you are Harry's son?" Dumbledore asked him, eyes widening slightly at his name.

"Yes," James said. "Age fourteen, first-born son of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley."

"Ah," said Dumbledore. "And who might the rest of you be?" he asked kindly to the remaining children. Then the Harry look-alike stepped forward.

"Are you Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley's son as well?" he smiled at the young boy.

"Yeah," the boy muttered. "I'm thirteen, and my name is…" he took a deep breath. "Albus Severus Potter."

"Harry named his son after me?" Dumbledore smiled slightly. He was touched that the boy would do this. "And after Professor Snape as well?" he asked suddenly, becoming alert. "He must find it out," Dumbledore muttered softly to himself.

The little red-headed girl stepped forward timidly. "I'm Lily Luna Potter," she smiled. "My mum and dad are the same as there's, and I'm eleven."

"That's nice dear," Dumbledore smiled down on her. Oh, how she looked like her grandmother!

Then the older girl stepped forward. "My name is Rose Marie Weasley," she said boldly, flashing him a grin. "I'm thirteen and the oldest daughter of….Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger!"

Dumbledore chuckled softly. That was interesting news. "And you?" he asked to the final boy.

"Hugo Arthur Weasley," he muttered. "I'm eleven and her sister." He jabbed his finger at Rose.

"I think that all of you can keep your names, along with your appearances," he said, pacing back and forth. Albus, however, should at change his hair color to a dark brown, as to not draw suspicion to how much he looks like his father. I am assuming you're all in Gryffindor?" They nodded.

"Then I will get you robes and trunks. You can move in tomorrow. Now," he said, drawing up his sleeves. "We must go to the Halloween Feast. I will introduce you after the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. Now, let us go down."

And the five troubled time-travelers had no choice to follow him, down to their impending doom. (Or so James would come to think of it.)

**Like it? Please, oh please review! The more reviews I get the more I update!**


	3. The Goblet of Fire

**Hello people! I am back! Sorry this update took so long, but I was busy over Easter break. I hope you all had a wonderful fun-filled Easter. And now on with the story!**

As the company of six, led by Dumbledore, headed down there staircase to the Great Hall. Al and Rose hung back a bit however, and were whispering fervently to one another.

"Triwizard Tournament?" Al said, eyes widening apprehensively. "I heard Dad talk about that once. I think he was in it!"

"Al, onto more important manners," Rose said breezily. "This is your Dad's fourth year, which means that it's your Mum's third year! _Our year."_

Albus stared incomprehensively at her. His mother, his age. Creepy thought.

As they reached the mean staircase, Dumbledore turned around. "Please wait out in the hall. I will call you in. Potters," he looked swiftly to where James and Lily were standing. "I will introduce you as Porters, while the Weasleys will become the Wilsons. These are both common, indistinguishable names. I will see you soon."

And with that, Dumbledore swept into the hall where the children could here the chatter and laughter of the students waiting for the feast to start.

"Attention!" They could here Dumbledore announce, as the hall began to quiet down and listen to him. "Yesterday you were introduced to the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. Today we welcome five young children from Leakwort's Academy of Magic in America that will be observing the tournament. They are a family, which is why they were chosen to come. Please welcome James Porter, who will be joining the fourth-year students this year, in Gryffindor house!"

James gulped and pushed open the door to the hall. Albus could hear applause coming from inside.

"Now we must introduce James's brother, Albus Porter, a third-year student, also in Gryffindor."

Al bit his lip and walked in. He could hear applause from all sides of the room as he headed over to the Gryffindor table. He took a seat next to James, who grinned cockily at him.

"James and Albus also have a little sister. Please welcome Lily Porter, a first-year, sorted into Gryffindor with her brothers."

Albus craned his neck to see Lily waling in. She looked nervous, and when she got close enough, she practically ran to where Albus was sitting. He put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"And now their cousins, the Wilsons shall be introduced. "Please give a warm welcome to Rose Wilson, a third-year of Gryffindor."

Al could see Rose walking into the Great Hall confidently. She grinned at him as she slid into the seat across from him.

"And finally, Rose's brother Hugo Wilson, a Gryffindor first-year."

Hugo, who was a bit tall for his age, stumbled in, tripping over his own feet. He came and sat next to his sister.

"Now, before we announce the champions, let the feast begin!"

As the golden plates filled themselves, James forked over everything in sight, biting ravenously into what looked like a delicious array of meat and potatoes. But Albus wasn't hungry. He simply spooned a bit of clam chowder into a bowl, and sipped it nervously. His Dad didn't talk about his school years much, but Albus was almost certain that he had mentioned competing in this tournament.

Suddenly, a short blonde-haired boy dropped into the seat next to Lily.

"Hi," he said a bit breathlessly. "I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Albus and Rose's year." He turned to Al. "Did you know you have the same name as the headmaster? Freaky, huh?"

Al found himself listening to Colin's rant, which was a bit amusing, truth be told. He kept going on and on about how great Hogwarts was and everything about it, even the smallest, most unimportant details.

"And then there's a giant squid in the lake and…" Colin was suddenly cut short, as Professor Dumbledore had begun to speak again.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," his voice rang out above all the others. "I estimate that we will be waiting about one more moment. Now, when the champion's names are called…"

Albus tuned Dumbledore out. He knew that his father would be called, he just knew it! He started listening again just in time to notice the goblet. The white-blue of the goblet had suddenly changed to a fiery red. Flames shot up from it, and a crumpled piece of paper, charred at the edges, came fluttering down.

"The Durmstrang champion is…" Dumbledore paused. "Victor Krum!"

Al wracked his brains for a Krum. All he could think of was that he once heard his uncle Ron mutter, "Stupid Krum."

Albus turned his attention to the goblet, which had turned red again. A nearly identically piece of parchment came floating down into Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

"The champion for Beauxbatons will be Fleur Delacour!"

The five kids exchanged shocked looks as their seventeen year old aunt smiled, tossing her hair as she walked up to the front of the hall to receive he piece of parchment.

As the applause died down again, a third paper fluttered down to Dumbledore. He read off it in a loud clear voice. "The Hogwarts champion is…"

Albus held his breath. He knew it would be his dad, he just knew it!

"Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore called, to thunderous applause from the house tables. Al wondered what the matter was. He was certain that his father had participated in this tournament.

Then the goblet erupted again, just as Dumbledore was talking. He reached out for the piece of parchment. Albus held his breath yet again. This was it. He knew.

"_Harry Potter_." The hall became completely silent. Al saw a glimpse of his young father for the first time. He really did look like his dad, like everybody had always told him. But now, his father looked completely shell-shocked.

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called again. Al saw his father walk up to the front of the hall, eyes wide, to receive his parchment from Dumbledore. Then he turned back to his siblings and cousins, with a smug look at Rose like, _I told you so._


	4. Meetings of Friends And Annoyances

**Sorry, sorry, I know it's been a long time! Thanks to everybody who reviewed, or put me on their favorites list or story alert. Now on with the story!**

James watched his teenage father leave the hall. This really was bizarre. Before he could register a thought, Professor McGonagall spoke.

"Students," she called. "Please report to your house common rooms."

James found himself being jostled through the halls of his familiar school. He did notice some changes though, the most prominent being the completely unblemished staircase. The war had taken out a few chunks of it, and even after it had been repaired, it looked extremely different than the one here. Before he knew it, He was at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she asked.

"Erm…" Dumbledore had forgotten to give him the password. That would have been useful! "I don't…"

Suddenly, a boy about his age came jogging up. "I know it," he said. "Balderdash."

"Correct," the Fat Lady said astutely, and the portrait hole swung upon, revealing the Gryffindor Tower that James knew and loved.

"Hi," said the boy holding out his hand. "I'm Neville Longbottom."

"James Porter," James said, shaking his hand. This was his Herbology professor and his head of house his age! This was getting freakier by the second…

"Great to meet you," Professor Longbottom said as the two walked through the portrait hole. "Are you excited to be at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, yes, definitely," James replied truthfully. He loved Hogwarts, and was most profoundly glad to be there.

"You'll love it," Neville smiled at him as they walked up the staircase to the dormitories. "Bit of a surprise at the end wasn't it? Or did Dumbledore not explain the rules to you?" Neville surveyed James in interest.

"Um, no, but I got the feeling that the Harry Potter guy wasn't supposed to be called," James said. He actually knew about it from History of Magic, that no one under seventeen was supposed to enter in it that year, but that was all he could recall about the lesson. He wasn't a nerd like his brother who remembered everything about every class.

"That's an understatement," Neville laughed. "Harry's in our year. You'll like him, he's a decent guy."

James smiled. Apparently Neville and his father weren't all that close yet, but he could tell that they were friends.

The two walked into the dormitory. It looked exactly like it did in James's time. "Oh, look," Neville smiled. "They brought up a bed for you." James noticed a bed a bit more off from the rest of the room, next to the door. He figured that this was his bed.

"So," James said as he sat down. "Who else is in our year?"

"There's Dean Thomas," Neville said and gestured towards the bed next to him. "He's a nice guy. He likes soccer way too much though."

"What's soccer?" James asked, confused. He'd never heard of that before.

"I think it's a Muggle sport," Neville frowned. "But I'm not sure either."

"Anyway, Dean's best friend is Seamus." Neville lowered his voice a little. "Seamus isn't my favorite person, but he can be alright."

"Oh," James sighed. He had heard about Seamus. In his dad's fifth year, Seamus hadn't believed him about Voldemort being back.

"Then there's Ron," Neville grinned. "Ron's nice, but he can be a bit moody. He fights all the time with Hermione, one of the girls in our year."

James grinned. He had heard about his aunt and uncle's infamous fights. His father had teased them about it all the time.

"Hey," Neville said suddenly. "I bet there'll be a party downstairs as soon as Harry gets back. We should head down."

James followed Neville down the staircase. He was trying to remember, something, _anything, _about his dad's fourth year. He couldn't recall a single fact.

When they got back downstairs, everyone was joking and laughing, glancing at the portrait hole every so often, probably waiting for Harry to come back.

Then the door opened. James could see his father there, shoulders hunched, eyes closed tight, as if he was waiting for something. The common room started screaming when they saw them, congratulating him, wondering how he got in… James could tell that Harry didn't like the attention. He kept trying to get up to the dorm.

"Hey," Neville said, turning to James. "I'm going to go talk to him. You want to come? I can introduce you."

The thought of meeting his teenage father now made James feel absolutely mortified. "Erm, no thanks," he said quickly. "I'm tired. Gonna go up to bed."

"Alright," Neville said, starting to move through the crowd.

James sighed as he walked up the spiral staircase yet again. This whole trip to the past thing was going to be a headache. He hurried into the room, only to find a very grumpy-looking Uncle Ron sitting in the bed.

"Er…hi," James said awkwardly.

"Hi," Ron said, giving James a completely false smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts, you're going to have a great time, etc." Ron sounded very grouchy. James frowned at him. This didn't sound like the happy-go-lucky Uncle he knew.

"Now, can you please leave me alone?" Ron said harshly. "I'm trying to sleep."

James glared at Ron. _Stupid uncle… _he thought to himself. Then he decided to show his pathetic teenage uncle a lesson. "I don't know what the hell your problem is," James said leaning in closer to his very obnoxious uncle. "But I bet it's really hard to pronounce."

Ron glared at him, and then went back to staring at the ceiling. James then decided to get into his bed. He drew the curtains around himself so he couldn't see anything. Then, a few minutes later, he heard the door open.

James listened wide-eyed to Harry and Ron's argument. This was awful! His father and Ron were the best of friends. No way should they be fighting like this! Uncle Ron should have believed his dad, and his dad should have…well, actually, he couldn't find fault in his father. But whatever! They shouldn't be fighting.

Then James thought of his little brother and sister. They would be crushed to see their father and uncle acting like that. And Rose and Hugo! He realized suddenly. They would be even more crushed to see their father doing things like that, insulting Harry in that way. Because James knew that this fight wasn't going to blow over easy. It would be an all-out war.

**Too short? I'm trying to make my chapters longer. Tell me what you think and review!**


	5. Talking

**Another chapter up! I hope you like it, and thanks to all those reviewers out there! It may be a little short, but I'm using it as a filler chapter.**

Rose Weasley wasn't one for confrontation. So when she woke up in the Gryffindor third year's dormitory with her aunt Ginny sleeping in the bed next to her, she was, suffice to say, a little freaked out.

Rose sat in her bed for a long time after she woke up. It was Saturday, after all, so there were no classes to be heard of. After about an hour of sitting there, she took a shower and got ready. Ginny still wasn't awake, so she decided to go find Al. But she couldn't. She couldn't find Hugo or Lily either. She did see James however, so she headed over to him.

"Morning," James yawned as she sat down next to him front of the fireplace. "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright," she said. "You?"

"Not too good at all," he said, turning to face her. "Rosie, my dad and your dad had a huge fight in the dormitory last night."

This jolted Rose out of her stupor. "What?" she yelped, alarmed. Uncle Harry and her father_ never_ fought. When she was little, she thought that it must be against the law. "What about?"

"Your dad thinks that my dad put his name in the Goblet of Fire," James said, absolutely serious.

"But dad would never think that," Rose said, quick to defend her father.

"I guess he does," James sighed. "Did you see my Mum?"

"I saw her," Rose said heavily. "But she still isn't awake."

"That's mum," James said with a grin. "Always a late riser. Then James's expression turned grim. "Rose, I hope you don't mind, but I insulted your dad last night."

Rose frowned, worry lines appearing on her forehead. "What did he do?"

"Insulted me," he mumbled.

"Well, as long as you didn't do it for now reason," Rose said with a sigh.

"Did you see you mum at all?" he said.

"No," she shook her head. "Didn't even get a glimpse of her at the party last night."

There was a long silence. "So…." James said, breaking it.

_Oh! Right! The reason she went to talk to James…_"Have you seen the others?" she asked, concerned. She really hoped nothing had happened to them.

"Yeah, Al took Lily and Hugo down to the lake this morning," James said, playing with a loose string on the couch cushion.

"Why?"

"I think he wanted to give the "No-Telling-Anybody-We're-From-The-Future Speech," James laughed. "I think they know it already, though."

"True," Rose said, laughing as well. Then it came to an abrupt halt. She saw Ginny walking through the common room.

"Hi," her future aunt said, putting out her hand. "I'm Ginny Weasley. You must be Rose Wilson. Nice to meet you."

Rose was momentarily stunned. Then she remembered her manners, and grasped Ginny's hand to shake. "Nice to meet you as well," she said, having trouble swallowing. "Er- " she noticed James looking up at his mother with wide eyes. "This is my cousin, James Porter," she said, motioning to James.

"Nice to meet you as well," Ginny said with a smile in his direction. "If you need any help getting around, don't hesitate to ask!" And with that, Ginny was out of the portrait hole.

"Well," Rose said, looking at James, who had an expression similar to a deer in the headlights, "I suppose we should go find the others and tell them what we've seen."

"Yep," James said, still slightly dazed, as they walked out of the common room.

**Again, sorry this was so short. I'll try to get more words in next time, but remember, this is just a filler chapter. Review, please!**


	6. Well, This is Awkward

**I'm so sorry it's been so long…I've had a lot of issues the past few weeks, but I finally have time to put up a new chapter! Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Sad fact: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. If I did…..well, I wouldn't be writing on this website.**

"Do you understand me?" Albus said, looking at Lily and Hugo with intensity in his eyes. It was around nine o'clock in the morning, and the three were down near the lake. "There will be no "Mommy and Daddy", got it? If possible, don't make eye contact with any of our family at all."

"Ok, Al," Lily said in a small voice. "We understand." Hugo nodded in agreement.

"Good," Al said, standing up straighter. "Well, why don't we walk around the lake? I'm sure that James and Rose are still sleeping, the lazy bums." Albus said with a little laugh.

Lily and Hugo were having a fun time pretend-shoving one another into the water, which, one may like to point out, was freezing cold. Al, however, was looking at more important things. His father and Aunt Hermione were walking around the lake as well. _In his direction._

"Lily, Hugo, come this way," Albus urged his younger sister and cousin back towards Hogwarts. Both looked confused at his sudden need for departure.

"Hello?"

Al cursed mentally. He turned around, a faux smile on his face as he saw none other than the two whose company he least craved right now. They were- you guessed it! - Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.

Lily and Hugo's jaws almost dropped at the sight of their young parents. They looked so…small compared to how they did in the future.

"Hi," Albus said through almost gritted teeth. "Who are you?"

"My name is Hermione Granger," Albus's future aunt said briskly. "And you three are some of the new exchange students, are you not?"

"Yes, we are," Al said, relaxing slightly. They didn't think it was peculiar that he looked so much like Harry, even though Dumbledore had put a charm on his hair to make it look like more of an auburn color, like his younger sister's.

"My name is Al and this is my younger sister Lily and cousin, Hugo," he said, nodding at the younger children in turn. "And you're Harry Potter, aren't you, the boy who is illegally in the tournament?"

Al felt extremely guilty saying that, like betraying his own family. Which, in a way, he was. _No, _he reminded himself. _Harry and Hermione are NOT you're family. At least not yet. You're playing a character right now, and a character would immediately dub Harry as the boy in the tournament or the Boy-Who-Lived, nothing more._

"Yeah, I am." Harry's voice was sulky and a bit rude. Al raised his eyebrow. He wasn't sure what to make of this.

"Well, good luck," Albus said abruptly as he steered his Lily and Hugo away from his young father and aunt. The situation was just too weird for him.

"Did you see them?" Hugo whispered ecstatically.

"Yes I did," Al said quietly.

"Now I know why people say that I look like my mum. Because I _do_!" Hugo's grin was so wide; you could have fit all of Tottenham Court Road in there. **(*)**

Albus almost grinned at Hugo's ecstasy. He sounded so happy and full of joy.

Lily was excited as well. "That was my Dad at fourteen, Jamie's age!" She said, smiling in happiness. "He looked so little," she giggled.

Then Al noticed something. James and Rose were rushing towards them hurriedly, faces showing a bit of distress.

"Al," James was panting when they had run that last bit. "We have something important to tell you. We saw Mum."

Al's eyes widened immensely at that. Seeing his father was one thing, but his mother? That was another thing entirely.

"Well, we've got news for you, too," Al said. "We saw Dad and Aunt Hermione."

"You did what?" James had just finished recounting his story.

"I can't believe you were that mean to my dad," Hugo said in sorrow.

Hey, I'm sorry, Hugh," James patted Hugo's shoulder. "But you're dad's a jerk at fourteen."

"James!" Rose said, slapping his arm.

"Ow!" James yelled, rubbing the spot her arm had made contact. "What are you made of, nails?"

"So this has definitely been a most interesting day, hasn't it?" Al said in good humor.

"You could say that," Rose said with a shaky grin. "But just wait until classes start on Monday."

"Damn," James said, his head falling back against the wall with a thump. "I completely forgot that we had to _learn_."

**What do you think? Review!**


	7. A Most Interesting Discovery

**I'm so sorry! It's been so long, I've just been extremely busy, and school will be starting soon, so I won't have too much time to update. I've also already started volleyball practice….horror. **

**Anyways, thanks for all the reviews. We've reached fifty! I'd like to thank my fiftieth reviewer, RoseWeasleyRoxX. Now on with the story!**

"What do you think of the new kids?"

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were up in the Owlery. Harry, scratching out a letter to Sirius about the tournament, waited a moment before responding to Hermione's question.

"Just like everyone else, I s'pose," Harry said, finishing off his letter. "Believing I entered in the tournament myself."

"Yeah, a lot of people will," Hermione said with a frown. "But you'll just have to deal with it."

"I guess so," Harry grumbled.

"Harry, if you're still mad about Ron…"

"Of course I'm still bloody mad about Ron!" Harry snapped at her. "He's supposed to be my best friend and he's acting like a bloody four-year-old!"

"Harry, this isn't my fault," Hermione said severely. "So don't go biting my head off about this. Just cool down a little."

Hermione retreated out of the Owlery into the hall. She didn't like treating Harry this way, but it was the only way that he would learn not to blame everyone else for what one person had done.

A few minutes later, Hermione found herself in the Great Hall. It seemed lunch had started. Time really had flown that morning. Without paying attention where she was going, she sat down.

"Oof!" There came a voice from beneath her. Hermione jumped up quite suddenly, almost knocking down a pitcher of orange juice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hermione cried as she looked down to see a boy about her age wit h dark brown hair…oh, it was one of the exchange students, the ones in her year! "I wasn't even paying attention to where I was sitting!"

"S'okay," said the boy casually, leaning back in his chair ever so slightly. "I'm James. And, you, doll, who would you be?"

"Hermione Granger," she said a bit coldly. This idiot was trying to flirt with her!

James suddenly turned bright red. "Oh Merlin," he muttered under his breath, followed by a string of curse words. He got up from the table, pushed past her, and exited the hall, muttering obscenities the whole time.

"Er…sorry about him," said one of the girls he was sitting with. _Rose,_ Hermione recalled. "He flirts with gargoyles."

"It's okay," Hermione said, sitting down in James' now vacated seat. "How are you all enjoying Hogwarts?"

"It's great," spoke up the redheaded first year, Lily.

"You mean marvelous," the first year boy, Hugo.

"Oh, you two were the ones down by the lake!" Hermione recalled. "Along with…." Her eyes scanned the table for the dark-haired boy, Albus, but he wasn't there.

"Oh, Al?" said Rose airily. "He just finished a few minutes ago and decided to go read in the library."

"Really?" Hermione said, a bit excitedly. No one but her ever went to the library on nice sunny Saturdays….

"Yeah, he's our residential bookworm," Lily smiled.

"So…where's Harry Potter?" Hugo asked.

"Oh, Harry?" Hermione bit her lip. "He's being kind of a prat right now, so I left him to his thoughts."

"Do you have any other friends?" Rose asked her.

"Um…Ron Weasley, but he's being an even bigger prat than Harry right now," Hermione frowned.

"Oh yeah, James told me that they were screaming at each other last night," Rose said sympathetically.

"How did he know it was Ron?" Hermione asked, a bit suspicious.

"Er…Ron was a prat to James, too," Rose stammered. "Don't quite remember what Ron said to him…"

"So the prat-ness is catching to James then?" Hermione couldn't help saying.

"Nah, he's always been a prat," Rose smiled.

"That'll never change," Lily said happily.

"Hey, something's been bothering me," Hermione frowned. "If you're from America, why do you talk with a British accent?"

"Er…" Hermione saw them all exchange nervous looks with one another. Hmm…what was up with that?

It was Rose who finally answered. "Our…parents were born in England and moved to America when they got married. They kept their accent, however, and with their influence we ended up speaking the same way."

"That makes sense…" Hermione trailed off, thinking for a moment.

"Well," she said, standing up. "I think I'm going to go do my Potions homework. Maybe I'll run into Albus in the library."

"Bye," Rose said vaguely, the other two in her wake.

Hermione rushed out of the hall and up the staircase, heading to the library. There was something fishy about those kids' story, and she was determined to find out what.

She entered the library, stopping only to nod hello to Madam Pince, then heading directly to the shelves. She had a few things she wanted to look up, the first being Leakwort's Academy of Magic.

It only took her a few moments to find the book she was looking for: _Schools for the Magically Gifted_. She flipped through the table of contents, searching for the right title. She found it about halfway down the list, in plain black and white; _Leakwort's Academy of Magic, page 224._

Hermione tore through the book feverishly, searching for the right page. At long last she found it. It was a short excerpt, only a page or two long. Her eyes scanned the page, not believing what she was seeing.

_Leakwort's Academy of Magic_

_Location: Near Boston, Massachusetts, the United States of America_

_Year Founded: 1678_

_Current Status: Destroyed_

_Leakwort's Academy of Magic was formerly one of the most prestigious magical schools in Colonial America. Its curriculum varied a bit from other magical academies, but this made the school seem even more ingenious._

_However, sometime during the Revolutionary War (specific details on what point in time it was is not clear) the academy was completely demolished by various war machines combined with dark wand work. Magical historians have registered a guess that the school was destroyed sometime around 1776._

Hermione stared at the page faintly. Leakwort's had been destroyed for over two hundred years! What was going on?

"Hello."

Hermione whirled around, snapping her book shut. There was Albus Porter, just standing there, as if he hadn't done anything wrong. _Which you don't know if he has…_

"Hi…Albus," Hermione ventured tentatively.

"Call me Al," he smiled. "Much easier to say, and people don't constantly question you for having the same name as Dumbledore."

"Oh, people have been bugging you about that?" Hermione said, feeling sympathetic towards the boy a year younger than her.

"Yeah, it's no big deal," he shrugged.

"So…" Hermione said shifting her weight from foot to foot tentatively. "I recently talked to the rest of your family. Rose seems nice."

Al smiled. "Rose is a sweetheart. She's always been my best friend. What about the others?"

"Lily and Hugo are quite lovely as well," Hermione said, a bit nervously.

"And James?" Al surveyed her amusedly.

"James…tried to flirt with me," Hermione admitted softly.

Al's looked of amusement turned of one to incredulity. "He tried to _flirt_ with you? What happened?"

"Er…I told him my name and he suddenly started cursing and left the hall," Hermione gritted her teeth. She didn't like telling James' little brother what he did, but James was bloody annoying….

"I'm so sorry," Al groaned, putting his head in his hands. "I swear, he'll start flirting with McGonagall next…"

"How do you know who McGonagall is?" Hermione asked, heart beating quickly. More information to gather…

Al suddenly jerked upright, eyes reflecting the obvious fear he had inside. "Er…showed us around a bit this morning."

Hermione could tell he was lying just by looking at him. There was definitely something wrong with this picture…

"Ok, then," Hermione said, not going to let this fact skip her mind. "Well, I've got to work on my Potions homework…"

"And I've got to go kick James' arse," Al grinned. "See you later."

"Bye," Hermione called after his retreating back. When he was gone, she slumped into a seat.

Just what was going on with these "foreign exchange students"?

**And done! Bloody hell, I think that's the longest chapter I've ever written. Kind of pathetic, right? Oh, well.**

**Press the little button and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know. It's been too long since my last update. I am terribly sorry. I'd like to thank all of my reviewers, especially Sukaretto Miyuki, yours really made me smile. This chapter is dedicated to you.**

"Who can tell me why there are so few Animagi in the world?"Albus sighed. He quite hated Transfiguration class, even in a different time with Professor McGonagall teaching it. Today was the Animagus lesson, also their first lesson in the past, a joy to behold_- not._

"Because the process to become an Animagi is very difficult." Albus was surprised to here Rose speaking. They had agreed not to draw attention to themselves. "Just to achieve a part-transformation would take years of immense study and research," Rose finished.

"Five points to Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall nodded. The bell rang. "Class dismissed. And I want a thousand-word paper on this subject, on my desk by this time next week."

Al hurried to catch up with Rose, who was already out the door.

"Don't say anything about me answering a question, Al," Rose snapped as he reached her side. "You're too paranoid. Answering one question in class won't get us found out by our families."

"Keep your voice down," Al implored.

"See?" Rose sang. "Paranoia." She walked off to her next class, Ancient Runes.

Rose really could be impossible- in Al's opinion, anyway. To everyone else, she was a sweet little angel. He knew better.

"Hi, Albus." Al whirled around, almost expecting to see Harry standing there, accusing him of being from the future. But it was just Hugo. Maybe Rose was right, he was paranoid.

"Hey, Hugh," Al relaxed, and began walking alongside the first year. "How's it going?"

"Alright," Hugo shrugged. "Lessons are good, but I saw my dad once."

Al felt his heart beat faster. "Did he speak to you?"

Hugo shrugged. "No. But he looked kind of mad. And wasn't talking to anyone, just glaring. But not at me. So it's fine."

Al's heart slowed. "Good, Hugo, good. What's your next class?"

"Charms, so nothing difficult."

Al snorted. Charms was Hugo's best subject, he was Professor Matice's protégée back home.

"Just don't draw too much attention to yourself in class, alright?" Al reminded him.

"Don't worry, I won't," Hugo promised. He glanced at his watch. "We better get going, class starts in ten minutes."

"Alright, say hi to Lily for me," Al said as he started down the hall towards the Divination classroom.

Divination was in the North Tower, so it took Al almost all of the allotted time until class started. He had to run the last stretch to reach the ladder in time. He had almost made it when…_oof!_

"Watch where you're going," snarled a voice filled with high malice. Al looked up to the face of a blonde boy, about James's age, with sharp, angular features and a pronounced scowl. Al recognized those features- they belonged to a boy in his dorm, Scorpius Malfoy. So this was his father, Draco. Al's own father's worst enemy.

Malfoy laughed cruelly when he saw Al's face. "Oh, look, boys, it's the Potter lookalike," he guffawed loudly, talking to his two friends on either side of him. "Wonder if he'll die about the same time as Potter-five minutes into the first task?"

Al unstuck his throat. "Bugger off," he bit back. "And I'm not Harry Potter, so no excuse to pick on me, is there?"

Malfoy smiled viciously. "Ah, but there is. You're a Gryffindor. Probably a Mudblood, too. And that's reason enough for me."

That was a warning signal for Al. He quickly side-stepped the older boy, and darted up the ladder, entering the classroom.

"We'll get you next time, Mudblood!" Malfoy's voice rang out from behind him.

Al sighed. That'd been a close one. He turned forward, and marched into a dark but glittering room filled with poufs and high-backed chairs and table, each with a crystal ball on top of it.

"Hello, dear," a voice came from behind him. Al turned towards it- and almost jumped. It looked like a big, glittering bug. It took him a moment to realize that it was only his teacher, Professor Trelawney.

"Please take a seat," Professor Trelawney said mistily, gesturing to the chairs, all of which were occupied by students already. "I believe you are the odd one out."

"No he's not, Professor!" A voice piped up from the back of the classroom. Al turned. It was Colin Creevey, the boy from the feast two nights ago.

"Alright, then, Mr. Porter can be partners with Mr. Creevey.," Trelawney said. "Go on, then."

Al made his way to the back and sat down next to his new Divination partner.

"Hi, Al!" Colin said excitedly. "Did you know that Divination is a very wholly subject? That's what Professor McGonagall says, anyways. Did you have Divination at your old school? Did you…"

Al tuned out, letting Colin chatter endlessly about various subjects. At least he had a friend of some sort in this mess his life was becoming.

**Sorry if it's not up to par- nothing really important other than the bit with Malfoy. Tell me what you think and…review!**

**Oh, and for those of you who read my story The Reading Box…I apologize for lack of update there as well. I swear that I'm working on the next chapter. It's jus taking longer than anticipated. If you haven't read it…check it out! Along with my other story, Back Again. Ah, shameless self-advertising! **


	9. A Moment of Curiousity

**Quick update this time! Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the reviews!**

"Expelliarmus!" Hugo's wand snapped away from his hand and clattered onto the floor. Lily glowed with pride, as she had been the caster.

"Nice job, Miss Porter," Professor Flitwick praised her.

"Thank you, Professor," Lily smiled.

"Nice job," Hugo told her as Professor Flitwick went to look at some of the other pairs in their Charms class. "That was amazing compared to all of my pathetic attempts."

"Yours weren't that bad," Lily reassured him. Untruthfully, however, as many of Hugo's attempts usually had him knocking his own wand out of his hand.

The bell rang. "C'mon," Hugo said, slinging his bag over one shoulder. "Let's go down to dinner. I hear that the house elves are serving steak and kidney pie tonight."

"Yum, my favorite," Lily smacked her lips together. The pair made their way out of the classroom and down the stairs to the Great Hall. Just as they were about to go in, however, the found themselves flat on the floor. Someone had crashed into them.

"Oh, sorry," a gruff voice said, although the person didn't sound very sorry. Lily glanced up- and almost fell back down again. It was her Uncle Ron. Hugo was staring transfixed up at him.

"It's alright," Lily gave him a tentative smile as she stood up, pulling Hugo to his feet along with her. "Who are you?"

"Ron Weasley," Ron grumbled. "And you're those new transfer students from America or something, right?"

"Y-yeah," Hugo stuttered. Lily glared at him.

"My name is Lily and this is my cousin Hugo," Lily told him.

"Well, nice meeting you," Ron made his way into the hall.

"He doesn't seem very happy," Hugo frowned after his father.

"It's probably nothing," Lily said uncertainly. But she had a feeling that this was a bit more than nothing.

"HUGO! LILY!" A voice was bellowing from over at the staircase towards them.

Lily rolled her eyes at Hugo. "Three guesses who that is."

"If you need the second two, you're the yeller himself," Hugo smiled at her.

They were both thinking of the same person- James.

James came bounding over the stairs at them. "Children! Thank Merlin I found you! I've been searching forever. Where are Al and Rose?"

"I don't know," Lily said truthfully. "The last time I saw them was during lunch."

"Well, we need to find them quickly," James said, bounding into the hall. With a sigh, Lily and Hugo walked in after him.

"ALBUS! ROSE!" James screamed loudly. The whole hall fell silent and turned to face him. He smiled at them unabashedly. "Have you people seen my little brother Albus or my cousin Rose? If you haven't, you're worthless slime."

"We're right here, James," Al rose up from the Gryffindor table with Rose in his wake. "What do you need? _This_ time?"

"What makes you think there's ever been a time before this?" James asked, feigning innocence. Lily snorted. She wondered whether James knew their conversation was being heard by the entire hall or not. He wouldn't care either way.

"James, seriously, what is it?" Rose had an icy edge to her voice, as if James were getting on her last nerve. Which he probably was. He tended to do that a lot.

"Just come along, children," James called, galloping back through the door and out of sight. Lily sighed and ran after him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hugo, Rose, and Al were following her example.

When the four of them finally came across James three floors and six hallways later, he was in one of the empty classrooms, pacing in front of the blackboard.

"James, what is it?" Rose hissed, hair falling over her face in tufts as she skidded to a stop in the doorway. "That was completely embarrassing!"

"Sorry, but I needed to get all of your attentions," James said. He suddenly stopped pacing, and turned to look at them with a serious expression on his face. "But we have a problem."

"What is it?" Al asked, staring his brother down. "What did you tell our parents?"

"What are you blathering on about, Al?" James looked confused. "This doesn't have anything to do with our parents."

They all visibly relaxed. "Then what is it?" Lily asked him.

"I just realized something," James told them. "I saw something in the Common Room."

"What?" Lily was bursting with curiosity.

"I saw Uncle George sitting there."

"So?" Hugo asked. "We knew that our aunts and uncles would be here, not just our parents."

"You didn't let me finish," James told him. "I saw someone with him."

"Who?"

"Uncle Fred."

The room suddenly became very quiet. Everyone hung their heads. Their Uncle Fred was George's twin brother who had died long before they were born, in the Final Battle here at Hogwarts. They had never met him, but their Uncle George never celebrated his birthdays- instead he went to the cemetery. No one ever talked about him much.

"We cannot tell him," Rose spoke up, her voice harsh. "We cannot inform him of his death."

"But think how much happier it would make Uncle George if Fred was alive," Hugo said quietly. "He wouldn't be so sad anymore."

"No," Al said. "It could mess up our future. We can't tell anyone anything."

"Why don't we-" But the door to the classroom busted upon before Lily could finish her sentence. It was none other than the two brothers they had just been discussing-Fred and George Weasley. Lily nearly fainted of shock. There was her sixteen-year-old Uncle George, with his trademark grin- and a boy who looked just like him. It made her want to cry, seeing these two together.

"Hello!" One of them- Lily was pretty sure it was George- said. "We just wanted to congratulate James-"

"On the scene he made in the Great Hall," Fred finished. Lily wanted to sit down. To hear those two finish each other's sentences- there were so many times she could remember Uncle George saying half a sentence and then trailing off, only to leave the room and not return for over an hour.

"It was quite funny." They said together.

"Thanks," James smiled. "That was the intent."

Rose slapped him on the back of his head. "Stop being such a berk."

Fred and George's grins grew, if possible, larger. "You know, James-" Fred said.

"Even though you are just a fourth year-" George put in.

"You seem like good prankster material," they said together.

James smile grew as well. "Really?" he said, almost giddy. Lily giggled to herself. James was always happiest when Uncle George gave him compliments on pranking.

"Yep," Fred grinned. "Would you like to join us for a bit of mischief-making at some point?"

"I'd love to!" James grinned, either not noticing or not paying attention to Rose shaking her head vigorously at him.

"Well, that's great," George grinned. "We'll contact you with some details. See ya', transfers!" The two bounded out of the room.

"James!" Rose almost screeched in frustration. "The plan is to stay away from our family, not befriend them!"

"C'mon, Rose, lighten up," Al smiled. "It could be our only time to get to know Uncle Fred. Give James a break."

"Fine," Rose sighed. "But don't tell them anything."

"Of course I won't," James told her earnestly.

Little did they know about another conversation going on just a few doors away from them between the Misters Gred and Forge.

"There's something up with them, I know it," Fred told George in a hushed whisper. "I could have sworn I heard our names before we barged in there."

"I know what you mean," George whispered back. "Let's try and figure it out when James comes to prank with us."

"We will figure out their secret," Fred grinned at him. "After all, what haven't we done? This can just add to the list."

**Well, what do you think? I think this is my longest chapter yet. But I am writing this on a very LONG plane ride…endless boredom. I hope you enjoyed- the plot is thickening.**


	10. Secrets Very Nearly Revealed

**So sorry for the lack in updates. I have no legitimate excuses this time, other than that I procrastinate quite a bit. I hope this helps make it up to you!**

"RUN, RUN, RUN!" Fred Weasley, his twin brother George Weasley and James Potter were currently running at top speed through the corridors, completely out of breath. George craned his neck back as they were running only to see a gaggle of Slytherin fourth-years still storming after them.

"They're still coming," George panted two his two companions as they passed the prefect's bathroom.

"And I thought they would have given up by now," James said, wheezing. He had never been a particularly fast runner.

"Any ideas on how to get rid of them?" Fred asked. "I don't know about you two, but I'm exhausted."

"I've got a dungbomb," James said, pulling the aforementioned object out of his pocket.

"And you didn't feel the need to mention this before?" George gasped out.

"Yeah, we could have thrown it a good five minutes ago," Fred chimed in.

"Alright, alright," James said, grinning at his new friends, and chucking the dungbomb behind him. A nasty scent filled the air as the Slytherins behind them stopped to try to regain their breathing.

"Duck in here," James whispered, grabbing Fred and George and shoving them into an unused classroom off of the main hallway. "Hopefully they'll be too dumb to look in here."

"They're Slytherins, of course they'll be too dumb," Fred snorted as he shoved himself up onto the teacher's desk in the front of the room. "By the way, good job, Porter. And mate, am I glad you had that dungbomb on you, otherwise I might've busted a rib."

"Dungbombs are God's gift to mankind," James said, lazily sliding himself into one of the seats.

"Truer words never spoken," George nodded in assent.

"What classes do you guys have Monday?" James asked, cracking his neck as he leaned back. It was Saturday; therefore, no learning was happening, much to the trio's liking.

"Defense with Moody," Fred said. "Quite the scary chap, you had him yet?"

"On Thursday," James said, shuddering. He knew Moody was a war hero that his father had highly respected, but the man was quite a sight to behold, and not in a good way.

"You got the class with our darling little brother?" George snorted.

James gave a hollow laugh. "Not so darling, I should think. He's a right git to me, and my family."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronnikins will come around eventually," Fred reassured him. "He's going through an awkward stage right now."

"Yeah; his life," James cracked a joke, making Fred and George roar with laughter. James felt a stab of remorse, for Uncle Ron wasn't that bad…in his thirties. At fourteen, however, James felt he could easily make fun of him.

"So…tell us about your old school…Leakwort's… in America, wasn't it?" Fred said casually, trading a look with his twin. They had decided to be discreet about their questioning- wouldn't want to push the boy too hard.

"Oh…um…" James stammered. Fred and George briefly glanced at one another again. He was in obvious discomfort about the situation.

"America, yeah," James nodded. "A lot smaller than Hogwarts, and a lot less fun. People there care about studying, exams, stuff like that, more than they do here."

"Sounds tough," George said.

"It was," James said, biting his lip. If Al and Rose got word he let something slip, it would be the end of him.

"James, we're going to be honest with you," Fred said, hopping down from the desk. "We know your hiding something. What we want to know is what." He gave James a long look.

"Um…erm…" James could feel sweat pouring down his back. "Well…uh…bye!"

And with that, he hightailed it out of the classroom.

"Checkmate," Hugo said, sliding in his queen to capture Al's king.

Al groaned, putting his head in his hands. Hugo had beat him three times in a row now.

"Better luck next time, Al," Rose said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I'm sure someday Hugo will mess up," Lily smiled up at her brother.

"But not today," Hugo said with a small smirk.

The four's casual conversation was brought to a halt by a huge slam- James had come stomping into the Common Room.

"You four," James jerked his finger at them. "Meet me in the kitchens in five minutes."

Al shared a worried look with Rose as James rushed out of the portrait hole again. "What did he do this time?" Al wondered aloud.

"I don't think I want to know," Rose said, shaking her head.

Five minutes later, the five were in the kitchens, the house-elves given specific instructions to stay away from them and not listen to the conversation. James was giving the low-down on their newest predicament with Fred and George.

"And so they know something's up," he finished. His siblings and cousins were staring at him, openmouthed. He had a strange urging to see what would happen if he pinched their cheeks, but refrained from doing so. He was in enough trouble as it was.

"And…you just…left?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, that covers it," James nodded, cringing, waiting for her blow.

"Well," Rose sat up. "We need to get them off our trail. Come up with a fake story, one that's completely plausible and not ridiculous. Whatever we do, we can't let them figure out the truth- that we traveled backward in time."

"And that we're their family," Al added in unhelpfully.

"And Uncle Fred's death," Lily chimed in.

"And…" Hugo began, but was cut short by Rose.

"No more help from all of you!" She threw her hands up in the air exasperatedly. "They can never find out anything about us, okay? All we can hope for is that Dumbledore will find a potion or a spell to send us back before anyone else becomes suspicious."

"What is it, Lily?" Rose snapped slightly, for Lily had been tugging on the back of her robe for quite a while now.

"It…it might be a little too late for that," Lily stammered, pointing at the doorway.

For there, standing right where the exit to the kitchens was, was Hermione Granger, staring at the five of them in complete and utter shock.

**Thanks to the reviewers, and if you put this on Favorites/Alert. Really makes my day to see those. I promise my next update will be quicker. Review? **


	11. What Are They?

**Told you it'd be quicker this time, didn't I? Thanks for the reviews!**

Hermione sighed. It had been a long day today. She wasn't speaking to Ron, and Harry had been busy, so she really didn't talk to anyone. The first task was coming up in two weeks, so Harry was obviously stressed about it.

As she walked down a corridor near where she thought the Hufflepuff Common Room was, she heard voices coming from inside the wall. Hermione frowned. The only blemish on the wall she could hear the noises from was a portrait of a bowl of fruit. She went down to investigate.

The portrait looked ordinary enough. Hermione decided to check the edges. As she moved her hand to the frame, the fingertips skirted across the pear sitting in the bowl. Suddenly, the portrait let out a shrill giggle. Hermione almost jumped back in surprise. To her astonishment, a door opened. She grabbed the handle and walked inside.

Hermione stopped short in the doorway. The voices she heard were the 'foreign exchange students'- James, Albus, Rose, Lily, and Hugo. And they seemed to be discussing something animatedly. Hermione listened closely.

"And…you just…left?" Hermione saw Rose ask James with an incredulous expression her face.

"That about covers it," James said sheepishly. Hermione was puzzled. What were they talking about?

"Well, we need to get them off our trail," Rose said. Hermione's eyes widened. _Someone else must have figured out that they were lying about where they came from! _"Come up with a fake story, one that's completely plausible and not ridiculous. Whatever we do, we can't let them figure out the truth- that we traveled backward in time."

To say Hermione was shocked was an understatement. She felt her face pale._ That was it! They were time travelers! But how…_

"And that we're their family," Albus added in. Who's family? Hermione wondered.

"And Uncle Fred's death," said Lily. _It must have been Fred and George that figured it out! But…Fred's…death? No…Fred couldn't die…_

"And…"

"No more help from all of you!" Rose cried. Hermione looked over again to see the little girl, Lily's, eyes lock with hers. Hermione tried to take a step back, but her legs were like lead.

Lily began tugging on Rose's robes. "They can never find out about us, okay?" Rose continued. "All we can hope for is that Dumbledore will find a potion or a spell to send us back before anyone else becomes suspicious. What is it, Lily?" Rose noticed the girl.

"It...It might be too late for that," Lily said, pointing at Hermione.

Hermione tried to run, but to no avail. The other four turned and gaped at her.

"H-Hermione?" Al stammered.

And without another word from anyone, Hermione ran. She raced at top-speed out of the room with the pear doorway, up to the main hall, through the staircases, all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Balderdash," she gasped to the Fat Lady. "And hurry, please." Hermione was terrified that Albus and the others were right behind her.

As the portrait hole swung open, Hermione wrenched herself inside. She went through the common room, searching fervently for Fred and George. She found the pair by the fire in quiet discussion.

"Fred…George…" she gasped out, falling on the couch.

"Hey, Hermione," George said without really focusing on her.

"Guys…listen…the foreign exchange students…your suspicious of them, too, right?"

The two looked more alertly at her now. "Yes…" Fred said slowly.

"I…heard them…downstairs…they're trying to throw you off their scent, and they're time travelers!"

The twins were all ears now. "What else did you hear?"

"They're a part of your family," Hermione said breathlessly. "They called you Uncle Fred," she said, nodding at the respective twin. "And…something about Fred dying."

Fred and George turned white with shock. "D-dying?" George stuttered. "F-Fred?

Hermione nodded. "They saw me, and I think they may be coming through…any…minute…" she trailed off, eyes fixated on the portrait hole.

Fred and George turned to follow her gaze. Their mouths hung open, for there, in the portrait hole, were the five newly discovered time travelers.

**It's a little shorter than I'd like, but I think it gets the point across well enough. The next chapter will be much longer, it'll have Hermione, Fred, George, and the time travelers with their confrontation. And then the chapter after that is the First Task…**

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**

**So please, I beg of you- review?**


	12. Confrontation

**Sorry for the wait, I wanted to make this good. **

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling wrote seven amazing books. I have written the occasional story and have nothing published. I don't think we're the same person. Do you?**

As the group from the future walked into the common room, Al noticed that Hermione, Fred, and George were sitting together.

_Damn, _Al though. _Now they know, too._

The five of them hesitantly made their way over to the trio. James dropped into the seat next to Hermione and mutter "I see you overheard us?"

"Y-yeah," Hermione stammered.

"And you told the twins?" Lily asked

"Mmhmm."

"Would you like to take a walk with us?" Albus asked, thinking it'd be best to discuss this delicate matter away from the loud common room.

"Good idea," Hermione nodded, and stood up, motioning for Fred and George to do the same. "Lead the way."

James took the lead, marching the group out of the portrait hole, down a staircase and into an unused classroom. As everyone entered, James shut the door behind them. "_Muffilato," _he said, pointing his wand at the door. "There. No one should overhear us."

"How much information did you catch?" Rose asked Hermione.

"That you traveled forward in time, you're probably related to the Weasley family, and something about Fred dying."

"Pretty much everything, then?" Al winced.

"Well, we can't hide the truth from them now," James said with a grin. "Can't we just tell them?"

"Listen to James," Fred nodded, excitement building in his eyes.

"Yes, tell us," George agreed fervently.

Rose sighed, glancing at Al. "No way around this?"

"Not unless we use a Memory Charm," Al said. "And Fred, George, and Hermione all looked quite mad at the idea of us blocking their memories, so I doubt they'll let us do that."

"Fine," Rose grumbled. "We can tell them. But when we leave, Dumbledore will perform a Memory Charm on everyone!"

"How do you know?" Al asked curiously. "He never said that."

"Told me two days ago," Rose shrugged. "Asked me to tell you lot. I forgot."

James sniggered. "That rhymed. Lot, forgot."

Rose gave him a long glance before turning back to Hermione, Fred, and George.

"So, we're time travelers. A couple weeks ago, James, being the idiot that he was, pressed a button on a contraption we knew nothing about. We ended up here."

"And then we found Dumbledore, told him our problem, and he decided we'd pose as foreign exchange students from America during the tournament," Al finished for her.

Hermione looked interested. "Does he know a way to send you back?"

"He's working on it," Hugo said.

"Hold it," George said. "What about you being our family?"

"Yeah, you neglected to mention my death, too," Fred objected.

"Oh," Al glanced at Rose. "Erm-."

"All you need to know is that we are related to the Weasley family and that Fred does die at some point in the future," Rose said. "That's all. We don't want to prevent our births, so we can't give you excess information."

Fred paled considerably – he had hoped Hermione heard wrong. Oh, well. Everyone had to die someday.

George, on the other hand, felt like he wanted to puke. His _twin _was going to die in the future. He was _going _to change this.

"You called Fred your uncle," Hermione said hesitantly. "That means you have to have George, Ron, Bill, Charlie, or Percy for your dad. Or even Ginny as your mum."

"Oh, yes," Lily said. "One of them is our parents."

"Are you all siblings?" Fred asked.

"James, Lily, and Al are," Rose said. "And then Hugo and me."

"Hold it," Hermione said. It all seemed to be falling into place. "You," she pointed at Al. "Look just like Harry but with blonde hair. And your," she pointed to Al's siblings. "Names are James and Lily. Harry's parent's names. So you're Harrys' kids!"

Al glanced at James and Lily warily. This wasn't going well.

"And," Hermione said, realizing something else. "You're Fred's nieces and nephews. So Harry marries Ginny!"

Al nodded glumly. He had accepted defeat – Hermione was far too smart for them.

"Harry and our little sister?" Fred said blankly.

"But Ginny has a fan-girl crush on him!" George pointed out.

"She gets over it," Rose said impatiently. "Now, you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Not even Harry or Ron?" Hermione looked crestfallen.

"Sorry," Rose said, but not unkindly. "But this needs to stay between as few people as possible."

"I suppose I won't say," Hermione said reluctantly.

"Us, too," George motioned to himself and his twin. "But we _are _going to change the future, because Fred _cannot _die."

"Yes, he can," Rose fixed him with a steely glare. "Because if he doesn't the whole timeline will be screwed up and some of our cousins won't be born."

"How do you know that?" Fred asked. He seemed to be taking his death much better than George did.

Rose, James, and Al shared a glance. They couldn't say that Fred's girlfriend when he died would eventually become George's wife.

"We just know," James said. "Please, try not to change anything."

"Okay," George said, but the look in his eyes said that they'd never give this a rest.

"So do you know what happens in the First Task?" Hermione asked. "Since Harry's champion and he's your dad."

"Erm, no," Al said. "Dad doesn't talk about his school years much."

"Why not?" Fred asked.

"Lots of bad things will happen," Lily said. "And talking about his years at school bothers him a lot – he says we're not old enough to know. But I'm eleven now. I have a right."

"Lils, Dad hasn't told James or me and we're fourteen," Al rolled his eyes.

"You're not fourteen yet," Lily said indignantly. "You have one more week!"

"Which basically makes me fourteen," Al rolled his eyes.

"Can you tell us who else has kids?" George asked. "And who they are?"

"Nope, sorry, not going to happen," Rose said breezily, making her way to the door. "I think we've talked about everything. See you later." She departed.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Al said in a low voice to Hermione as everyone else left. "But don't worry. It's not so bad. And soon you're headache will go away."

"How do you know I have a headache?" Hermione looked curiously at the younger boy.

"You're holding up your hand to your forehead," Al said.

"Well, thanks," Hermione said, and hurried out the door, Al in her wake.

"Well," Hugo said later that night in the common room. "That went well."

**Hope you enjoyed! Sorry if it didn't live up to your expectations. Thanks for the reviews! Next chapter is the first task!**


End file.
